WOMEN’S LIBERATION 2020 CONFERENCE #WomensLib2020 WiFi login: womenslib PROGRAMME Hosted by UCL Women’s Liberation Special Interest Group in conjunction with Woman’s Place UK & Supported by Centre for Womens Justice, FiLiA, National Assembly of Women & Southall Black Sisters CONTENTS Introduction The event 3 The organisers 3 The exhibition 5 The quilt raffle 5 UCL Code of Practice on freedom of speech 6 Timetable 7 Plenary sessions 7 Panel sessions 8 Workshops 10 Biographies 16 Feminist marketplace 28 Facilities 30 Wifi Map Creche Quiet Space Multi faith prayer room Catering/refreshments Toilets Accessibility 2 The Event 2020 marks the 50 year anniversary of the first National Women’s Liberation Conference in the UK. In February 1970, women of Ruskin College Cambridge organised a meeting to discuss the contemporary position of women. Organisers expected between one hundred or two hundred people. Five hundred women showed up. "Everybody arrived with their sleeping bags on ­Friday night. It was turmoil. '' This event was a consolidating moment. Historian, Sheila ­Rowbotham, says this was the ­moment "a movement could be said to exist" and one of the ­biggest landmarks in British women's history. It is in this spirit Woman’s Place UK welcome all conference attendees. We still have much to do. WPUK in conjunction with UCL Women’ s Liberation Special Interest Group are excited to create a dynamic platform to once more reflect on women’s contemporary position. Leading feminist researchers, activists and writers will be keynote speakers, host panel discussions and facilitate interactive workshops on a variety of topics. There will be a practical focus on empowerment of participants to return to their communities and workplaces with a focus on activism and building solutions for women and girls. We have 30 workshops, 5 panel discussions and 2 plenaries addressing the themes of the WPUK manifesto, including but not limited to: the economic status of women; ending violence, harassment and abuse of women and girls; improving access to healthcare, education and training; justice for women in the legal system; representation and participation in democracy, culture, sports and all areas of public life. The Organisers UCL Women’s Liberation Special Interest Group (SIG) brings together academics and other staff from a range of disciplines whose research addresses pressing social and political issues concerning the status and meaning of women’s rights. 3 We aim to generate public conversations and collaborations around these issues in the context of contemporary debates on the nature of sex and gender inequalities and the extent to which they are rooted in biology, social structures and individual identities. The timing of this initiative celebrates fifty years since the first Women’s Liberation conference in the UK in 1970, while recognising the serious challenges still facing women globally today, including violence against women and girls, representation in the media and in politics, sexual harassment, income inequality, and the burden of care worksystem; representation and participation in democracy, culture, sports and all areas of public life. Woman’s Place UK was founded by Judith Green, Ruth Serwotka & Kiri Tunks in 2017, together with activists from a range of backgrounds including trade unions, women’s organisations, academia and the NHS. We are united by our belief that women’s hard won rights must be defended. We are against all forms of discrimination. We believe in the right of everyone to live their lives free from discrimination and harassment. Women face both endemic structural and personal inequality. This is reflected, for example, in the high levels of sexual harassment and violence against women & girls; the gender pay gap; discrimination at work. This is why sex is a protected characteristic in the Equality Act (2010) which we believe must be defended. We will continue to organise public meetings and work to make sure women’s voices are heard in all matters of concern to them. Our original 5 Demands 1. Respectful and evidence-based discussion about the impact of the proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act to be allowed to take place & for women’s voices to be heard. 2. The principle of women-only spaces to be upheld – and where necessary extended. 3. A review of how the exemptions in the Equality Act which allow for single sex services or requirements that only a woman can apply for a job (such as in a domestic violence refuge) are being applied in practice. 4. Government to consult with women’s organisations on how self-declaration would impact on women-only services and spaces. 5. Government to consult on how self-declaration will impact upon data gathering – such as crime, employment, pay and health statistics & monitoring of sex-based discrimination such as the gender pay gap 4 Our experience in campaigning on these 5 demands has exposed the poor state of women’s rights in the UK. We therefore developed a broader campaign on the foundations we had built, launching a new set of demands in January 2019 and a Manifesto in May 2019, which is available at this conference and on our website. Our 2019 Resolutions 1. Women have a right to self-organise Women have a right to self-organisation, to speak and to be heard free from fear of abuse, threat or vilification in public & political discourse & in academia. This should be actively facilitated by those with civic or legal responsibility for promoting equality. 2. The law must work for women The law must be strengthened to ensure that all women who want or need single sex spaces (including toilets, health provision accommodation, prisons, sports, sexual and domestic violence services) are able to access them without resorting to extraordinary measures. Service providers should be supported in offering such services through legal & financial means & clear guidance must be issued on the exercising of such rights. 3. An end to violence against women Government must make the end to male violence against women & girls a priority. Sustainable funding for independent women-led services for women subjected to VAWG must be fully resourced by central government alongside the implementation of statutory relationships & sex education in all schools. 5 4. Nothing about us without us. All organisations, committees & politicians speaking on issues of material concern to women to demonstrate that they have widely consulted the women they represent & serve & that such consultation informs their action & their policies. 5. Sex matters Rigorous collection and analysis of sex-based data and high-quality research must be central to the development of any services, policies or actions which address women’s needs or which challenge sex discrimination & inequality. The Exhibition Our exhibition “A Woman’s Work” celebrates the tradition of female and feminist textile art, both explicitly and implicitly political, and launches the development of a new approach towards the commissioning of feminist art as the Women’s Liberation Movement reboots itself. From banners to bedspreads, tablecloths to tribunals, for oldtimers and new arrivals alike, A Woman’s Work has just begun… The content has been curated to ensure that it remains as controversial as the Women’s Liberation Movement was 50 years ago or when Judy Chicago made her Dinner Party. There are those that would object to the original 4 demands, are offended by witch- burning, images of wombs, free assembly, free speech, autonomy of women to organise, autonomy of black women to organise separately. The original 4 demands (equal pay, equal educational & job opportunities, free contraception & abortion on demand & free 24-hour nurseries) were themselves controversial within the women’s movement, and led to additional demands in 1974 & 1978. This is a serious show, as part of a serious conference, and if treated as such, will provide no traction for invented scandal. 6 The Quilt Thank you to Holly Smith for designing, stitching, & donating this beautiful vibrant quilt: ‘Spring Flowers’ Raffle tickets are available to win this hand stitched work of art. The winning ticket will be pulled in the closing plenary. All proceeds go towards the cost of this Conference and the UCL Women’s Liberation SIG. University College London Code Of Practice On Freedom Of Speech UCL has a long tradition of safeguarding freedom of speech. UCL is committed to upholding academic freedom of enquiry in its teaching and research and to ensuring that free and open discussion can take place in an atmosphere of tolerance. The key aim of UCL policies is the creation of an environment on and off campus that permits freedom of speech and expression within a framework of respect for the rights of others. These are included in codes of practice, policies and procedures that students agree to comply with on commencement of their studies. All ticket holders and participants have received a copy of the ‘Code of Practice' and accepting them is a condition of booking. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/srs/file/2735 7 Timetable 09.00-10.00 Registration & coffee 10.00-11.15 Opening Plenary Logan Hall 11.15-12.15 Themed Panels 12.15-1.30 Lunch 13.30-14.30 Workshop 1 (55 minutes) 14.30-15.30 Workshop 2 (55 minutes 15.30-16.00 Tea 16.00-17.00 Closing plenary Logan Hall 17.00-18.00 Self-organised regional networking 8 19.00-21.00 Social event Plenary sessions Logan Hall Opening plenary Joanna Cherry QC MSP Maya Forstater Pragna Patel Chair: Sophie Scott Closing Plenary Joan McAlpine MSP Julie Bindel Kiri Tunks Chair: Holly Smith Panel Sessions 1. How can women campaign for our own interests? Elvin Hall Mary Davis Judith Green Pragna Patel Chair: Holly Smith 2. How can we make the law work for women? Level W03 Room 1 Harriet Wistrich Julian Norman Allison Bailey 9 Chair: Ruth McGinity 3.